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Happy summer again! I’ve previously mentioned how I received J:Dew products from q-depot (www.q-depot.com), and they’ve been a great addition to my routine this holiday. Today, I’ll be reviewing two products: the toner, and the serum.

An amazing Korean skin care product which will cool and moisturizes your skin in almost no time leaving behind smooth texture to your skin without any sticky feelings.

It contains pure and organic aloe vera and green tea from the clean soil of Jeju Island, which effectively smooth irritated and troubled skin while proving enough moisture to the deeper layers of your skin. Not only this, it also magically reduces the look of fine lines and wrinkles.

Best of all, all the products from J:DEW are free from following 6 harmful additives: parabens, mineral oils, animal derivatives, artificial aromas, artificial colorings, and benzophenone making them very friendly to the sensitive skin as well.

Of the series, I’ve really enjoyed using this toner! It’s refreshing and has a light consistency, which I’d liken to a little runnier than the Hada Labo lotion. On days when my skin feels like it needs nourishing (more so than a light toner mist anyway), I spread this out onto my skin after cleansing and my skin feels supple and moist again.

This toner is also like aromatherapy to me; it smells like aromatherapic oils and lavender, which really make me feel relaxed at night. The scent is truly soothing, and makes me feel at ease while I prep myself for the rest of my routine. How cute – prepping my face, and my mind!

I will however need to put across that this stuff does not leave your face hydrated for hours on end – it absorbs into my skin fairly quickly (within 15-30m), and that’s when I know that it’s time for me to apply my serum/essence.

This serum has a very smooth formula, fairly similar to the standard serum you’d have. It does feel heavy on my skin (!), but in the way you’d expect a highly nourishing product to be. It smells fairly similar to the toner, and when I massage it into my skin, the dryness/flakiness I’m susceptible to just disappears. Even though I sleep in an air-conditioned room, after applying this serum, I don’t wake up with tight and dry skin!

I say this bearing in mind that my skin type is combination (dry cheeks/forehead/chin, oily t-zone) – and in my humid weather in Singapore, this will only be suitable at night. If I wore this under my makeup in the day, my cushion would probably melt off by noon!

OIL-BLOTTER TEST

So I spread the four products out on a sheet of oil-blotting paper, and let them sit for a while to see how their oil content is.

Immediately after

10 minutes later

An hour later

So as a preview to the lotion and cream, I’ve dispensed little drops of each product onto an oil blotting paper. While the products do look similar at first glance, they’re clearly formulated very differently – with high oil content in the serum!

These cruelty-free products have genuinely surprised me with how soothing they’ve made me feel. I’ve previously gone for “HG!!! this stuff’s the best” products, but considering how my skin has been flaring up in recent months, I’ve been looking for something with less gimmicks.

Look forward to my reviews of the lotion and cream coming soon then – I’m sure you’ll need products to lock in all that moisture! I’ll also be doing an overall review of the range then 🙂

As much as I’ve wanted to maintain Milliefeuille on a regular basis, it’s been really tough handling just school alone – I honestly thought that I’d have better time management and more free time now, but I guess not?

I’ve blogged about how samples are my ‘小确幸／xiao que xing’ they’re part of the little things that keep me sane and just bring me a disproportionately large amount of joy in tuff times! It’s so irrational that I’d give myself an extra half an hour to get home so I could drop by Raffles City or Capitol Piazza just to collect some samples… when I can’t even give myself that extra half an hour of sleep sometimes… but hey, whatever works right?

Given so, I’d just like to share with you guys some of the great stuff I’ve received in the past couple of months – and the story of how I collected them 🙂

SULWHASOO

I remember being particularly down that day – I don’t quite remember why, maybe it was that I’d just received my midterms grades back and they weren’t that great? So I went to google for some free samples, and it just random occurred to me that I might want to look up Sulwhasoo – and I saw that they were offering a 5-day trial for their Snowise series.

I was treated to a warm experience by the saleslady, who sat me down and let me try and explained to me what the different products were. She was especially generous with me as well, actually offering me the full ‘5 day’ trial that included 5 packets each of the Snowise Brightening Serum, Spot Treatment, Water, Cream, and Fluid, and the First Care Activating Serum EX (I’m saying this as some brands offer a ‘5 day trial’ with 1 packet of serum? Wouldn’t that be like, a misrepresentation?); I know my skin isn’t that great, so I wasn’t offended or anything but I was quite pleased that she took the time to diagnose my skin type and offered some Brightening Exfoliating Gel to me. Usually, I’d just be in a rush to get my samples and go, but given the environment… mmm, it felt like a great temporary respite.

ORIGINS

Actually, not much of a story here. After visiting Sulwhasoo, I dropped by the Origins outlet at Robinsons Raffles City to collect it – and I left with a Platscription set including an anti-aging cleanser, powerful lifting cream, and powerful lifting neck and décolleté treatment. Ha! I actually also dropped by Lancome for some samples, but I gave those to my mum already.

FRESH

I was having lunch with J at Nam Nam – when I remembered that I had this SMS from like, February!!! A month had passed since I’d signed up for a sample of the Black Tea Age-Delay Firming Serum – but I decided to head up to the store to try my luck anyway. And luck it was! The sampling offer was ending in 4 days, and I managed to get my trial bottle; I’m amazed at how generous they were with the packaging this time, it’s almost the same as the real packaging – with the glass dropper and all. It smells great too!

KIEHL’S

THE BODY SHOP

Hm. I was heading home from one of my finals papers and I needed to grab some food – I had extra time, so I dropped by the outlet at Junction 8 to pick up the Oils of Life Sleeping Cream and Facial Oil for my mum. She purchased the oil and toner (?) recently, and thought she’d like to try the new cream. I walked in, and asked whether or not I could redeem the sample – I mean I don’t expect anything, but without saying a word the saleslady turned around, grabbed the sample, turned back around and just stuck her hand out with it to me – all without saying a word? I said thanks and she continued to remain silent and I just left (???) what an odd sales experience… Extremely different from the warm and friendly service my mum and I experienced at Raffles City previously. I also collected some Drops of Light Serum and Cream.

Also I’ve spent the past few months taking a module that includes a case study on The Body Shop and Anita Roddick – did you know that Roddick was vehemently against advertising? Just food for thought.

BELIF

My last finals paper was on Friday, and I was at Junction 8 with my mum again! Belif posted that they were offering samples of their new mask on Insta, so I dropped by with my mum to get a set. They’re offering quite a few products from 30-50% off now – fairly good deals but I don’t need anything right now 🙂

Altogether, I received varying amounts of First Aid Deep Pore Care Mask, Peat Miracle Revital Mask, Lavender Sky Hand Cream, First Aid Overnight Skin Regeneration Mask, First Aid Anti-Hangover Soothing Mask, Hungarian Water Essence, First Aid Overnight Brightening Mask, and First Aid Aqua Rush Mask. Each set came with 6 masks/samples, and my mum and I got a different assortment 🙂

PHYSIOGEL

I signed up for samples online, and a few days later a package arrived in my mailbox! 🙂 Some Calming Relief Face Cream, and Calming Relief Gentle Cream Cleanser.

NEULII

I’m sure you guys all know about this! Roseroseshop came up with their own brand, Neulii, and offered to send samples to anyone who messaged them on SNS 🙂 By chance, I got 5 packets each of the AHA Vita Brightening Serum, and the Teatree BHA Blemish Control Serum. I don’t quite fancy the AHA, but I’ve been using the BHA over the past couple of weeks and I’m quite happy using it 🙂

SAMPLESTORE

I love the way SampleStore works but…. man you really have to rush when the new samples are out haha. I was lucky enough to get a few things – Labo Labo Super Moist Gel, Dove Body Wash, Pond’s Flawless White BB Cream, and Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock!

MISCELLANEOUS

Also I finally received the Histolab 72% Azulene Complex Ampoule samples from HKC Plaza… and did you know that Her World sometimes attaches free samples to the magazine? That’s a The History of Whoo Ja Saeng Essence.

And sometimes I win some stuff from contests 🙂 I received Bioderma micellar water travel bottles, including a Hydrabio H2O, Sensibio H2O, and a Sébium H2O. Super cute 🙂

Our free samples!!! This included a travel kit including Milky Moisturizer Hydra Balancing, Numero 10 Essence, and Creamy Cleansing Foam Moist, and samples for the Classic Essence Increment which we requested for. My aunt bought the full-sized version of this, and it was the last one… so my mum settled for samples for now (she has too many things to use now anyway!!) We also received 2 cute umbrellas, and a makeup organizer pouch!

We also received a ton of free gifts – the welcome member set included a Lumilayer Primer, Beauty Cleansing Foam, and Perfecting Last Foundation. I didn’t even take pics of the 1. Tumbler 2. Laptop Bag and 3. Lunch bag they gave us!!!

My aunt also purchased some stuff from The Face Shop – she gave us one of the free sample kits she received.

While the prices are quite amazing, I must warn you guys that the expiry dates are fairly near, with most of them expiring in mid-2016. I highly suggest against irresponsible hauling – if you’re not gonna be able to finish it by then, don’t buy it!! Or I mean like you could use it on your body, but still. Take note of the expiry dates before purchase!!!

The sale is held at Suntec City (where the 3 shops are side by side), from 27-30th August. Have fun guys!

Early last year, when I was still really new to all my beauty products, I was desperately hunting for places where I could get samples to try – I mean, skincare ain’t cheap! I didn’t even have a proper toner, sunscreen, or whatnot…

I came across the Sample Store, where they’ll send you samples to try in Singapore! They’re actually partnered with Singpost. Here’s how it works: you either pick free samples to checkout, or you pick up to 4 samples as part of a $5.99 order (or what they call a ‘handling fee’).

Pictured above:

Biore UV AQUA Rich Watery Gel (15ml)

Bioré’s Makeup Remover Cleansing Gel (20ml)

Sunplay Superblock SPF130 PA+++ (6ml)

White Formula Super Moist Toner (35ml)

White Formula Super Moist Light Toner (35ml)

My Beauty Diary Vanilla Moisturizing Aroma Mask x2 (23ml)

For instance, I’ve pictured 2 separate orders above: the two Bioré products on the left are free! While I do own the Bioré Watery Essence, and the old formula of Bioré’s Makeup Remover Cleansing Gel, I’ve never tried these new versions before – so this is a great way for me to try before I buy! 🙂 (plus, these sample sizes, 15ml and 20ml, are absolutely perfect for me to travel with!!!)

I picked Sunplay because I own the spray version, but I’ve never tried the ‘original’ – wanted to see how it compared to Bioré’s! The packaging for this sample is SO. CUTE.!!!!!! It’s basically a tiny version of the actual product, and it even includes a little ball bearing inside for you to shake it up :> I’ve yet to try this because I’ve got too many sunscreens open right now, so… yes!

I picked the White Formula Toners as I’ve heard lots of good things about them. I saw them all over the place when I was in Taiwan last year, and they’re supposedly the bestselling toners at their price range in Taiwan? If they’re somehow live up to my HG Hada Labo toners (they seem very similar!!), I’m all up for trying this!!

As for the MBD masks…. These aren’t the actual masks I received in my order 😀 Yes, I did order MBD Vanilla Masks, butttttt that was last year when I hadn’t started my foray into sheet masking yet. After using these MBD mask samples, I was like w h o a this shit is good – and then I went to buy lots more when I was in Taiwan :p

I suspect that Bioré’s samples are free because Bioré holds their own promos to send out free samples as well, so they’re naturally free. Ok but I should warn you guys that you should probably google some of the ‘paid’ samples before you order them? I noticed that Acnes samples are available FOC on the SG website, but they’re ‘paid’ on SampleStore!

As for the $5.99 order, I might be a bit auntie in this sense but I usually only pick items that are ‘worth it’. Like some of the samples are a bit ‘ehhh’… like they only include a 1x1ml foil sachet for what’s basically $1.50!?! Yes I’ve actually come across samples like this on the site before. Okay like honestly if they only want to send me 1ml I might as well go to Watsons (where most of the products available for sampling are on sale) and just squeeze >1ml onto my hand and try it on the spot for free right?? If you really want me to buy your product, I feel like you should at least provide me with enough product to sample it on my whole face…

Word of warning though: their samples (be it free or paid) run out REALLY fast!!! For you to get the samples that you’re interested in, you have to be pretty diligent in ~stalking~ their site… or waiting for their EDMs heh.

Do any of you source your samples from other sampling websites? Share them with me in the comments!

I had so much fun! My mother says that her ‘小确幸／xiao que xing’ is eating snacks/good food, and her friend’s is buying 4D/Toto; I’m like a ‘xiǎo auntie’, as she calls me, but mine would be going around getting free samples :>

I initially dropped by Farrer Park MRT station’s Metro to pick up samples, but what I failed to realise was that….. it was an absolutely tiny branch. I only managed to get 1 Kose sample and half a Lancome sample! 😦 So when I dropped by Centrepoint Metro later that night, I managed to pick up most of the items – really exciting 🙂

For the rest of the items that I failed to pick up, the next day I headed to Metro Paragon with my EXCO (the 2 guys scuttled away when they discovered I was heading to the beauty floor)

Not much to say here – I’ll just share with you what I got 🙂 I split the samples between my mum and I; the first four are for her, and the last few are for me!

Elizabeth Arden: Anti-Aging + Intensive Repair Daily Serum

Elizabeth Arden isn’t exactly a brand for my age, so I passed this to my mother!

La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Moisturizing Cream

Ooh the saleslady for La Prairie was so friendly!! She sat me down and demonstrated the cream to me and it smelled absolutely heavenly :> It has this light, citrus-y scent, I can definitely imagine someone in my mum’s age group using this as a night cream.

Lancome 7-day Trial Kit for the Genifique serum, cream, and UV filter

Same goes for this – I have tried my mother’s Lancome Genifique serum, but it’s quite… useless for me right?? No need to use so much anti-aging so early, I have this paranoid fear that if I use too much now they won’t work so well in future?!?!?! So this goes to my mum too 😀

Clarins Body Shaping Cream + Body Lift Cellulite Control

…Also for my mum… – She’s been using Clarins products for YEARS now – both my parents enjoy using the face scrub, as well as the sunscreen. I’ve finally managed to convince them to convert to Asian sunscreens though! 😀

Burberry + Issey Miyake + Kenzo

One set for my mother, and one set for me! Chloé is one of her favourite scents, and I can definitely see why – they’re fresh and girly, so she handed me her set to try as well. I can finally discover my scent (??)!!

Laneige Pore Control BB Cushion Samples in #13 and #21

I recently gave my Yiyi the Laneige Pore Control Cushion #21 I won from Her World, as I thought it probably wasn’t the right shade for me. However, after extended use I kind of feel like the Laneige #13 is a smidge too light for me (I usually don’t like to have to take the extra step to match my neck..). I am however worried that #21 will be too dark 😦

Kose Clear Cleansing Oil

Ooh when I got a sample of the Kose Sekkisei pressed powder a couple of years ago I was absolutely AMAZED by how smooth it was?? Ever since then I’ve had this… admiration for Kose products. Not exactly something I needed, but I just knew that they were always there and… good! 😀 Not to mention, as I was collecting this cleansing oil, I noticed that they have a Kose x Cinderella collection – soooo cute!

A pity that I forgot to go get the SK-II samples! But I guess it’s alright.

VDL

I also managed to get samples from VDL – I quoted YinaGoh for this, thank you! VDL is quickly becoming one of my favourite makeup brands right now – as I’ve mentioned in my April favourites, within a few uses, the Beauty Metal Cushion Foundation has become an absolute favourite to work. It gives this dewy, gorgeous finish, but I suspect that A201 might be a little bright for me – I was interested in sampling A203, so the mega-friendly saleslady selected A203 as part of my sample set 🙂 I only have a foil sachet of the Real Skin Foundation A02, so now I should be able to ascertain my shade pretty easily once I sample them all.

On a side note, as I’ve been trying different foundations like every day over the past few weeks, I can probably say… I don’t really like the IOPE cushion 😦 Well, at least this brings me about 3 steps closer to reviewing all my cushions so I can publish my mega-review!

As you guys may know, I signed up with Her World’s new Beauty Club a few months ago, when there was a pop-up store at ION in February. Everyone who signed up stood to win a Beauty Bag worth >$200, so when I received a letter in the mail from Her World, I was ecstatic!! It definitely made my day after getting home from work 🙂

What’s in the bag:

Fresh Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment, ~$20

Bioré Marshmallow Whip Foaming Wash, $13.90

Gatsby Oil Clear Sheet, $3.90

Laneige BB Cushion (Pore Control), $59

VDL Lumilayer Primer, ~$9.60

Clio Kill Cover Pro Artist Liquid Concealer, $20.90

Browhaus HD Mascara, $17.90

Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum, $36

Asience Intensive Treatment Oil, $14.90

Bioderma Sensibio H2O, ~$10.80

The Body Shop Body Butter, ~$7.80

…Which adds up to a grand total of…

$214.80!!!!

Whoa!! That’s a lot :O I really love how the Her World editors curated this bag – this is truly filled with well-designed products, and tailored for the Singapore weather. I’m saying this because I /have/ tried a number of these products (or similar ones) beforehand, and they really are great for me.

I’ve tried the Fresh lip balm before – tinted lip balms are the best here. Because the weather is so hot, my lips get chapped really easily, so some colour and balm together is the best for fixing up dry lips!

The Bioré face wash was actually my HG foaming wash for years, before I discovered Asian Beauty. It’s not that I don’t like it anymore, but just that I’ve started to try the Hada Labo one instead now!

The Laneige Pore Control cushion is mattifying, and does a great job at oil control in our humid weather 🙂

As you guys already know, I have the Clio pot concealer and love it! It’s really a pity that they chose #05 Sand to distribute in the beauty bags though – it’s WAAAAY too dark for me (it’s like, NC30?), so I won’t be able to keep this 😦

I actually have a bottle of the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum, and it really does live up to its hype – it does a very good job at hydrating my face, even with my leaning-to-dry skin! My only issue is that this line is quite… heavily scented.

Bioderma’s micellar cleansing water is, as I understand, fairly similar to the Bifesta one. Micellar water is much lighter on my skin as compared to typical oil-based makeup removers!

Rushed this post out today after I got home from Orchard!!! This has probably got to be some kind of record – I don’t think I’ve started on a post and published it within such a short amount of time before.

ION Orchard is hosting Beauty Season from now til 4th March 2015! This means that participating stores will be giving away a limited number of samples (every day). This is a great chance for everyone to sample the products they’ve been eyeing!

For the sake of reviewing products for this blog, I’ve set myself on a task to…. review EVERYTHING. Let me preface this – I am not encouraging hoarding products that you won’t use. All of these are brands that I (or my family) am familiar with, and am interested in trying out.

LOOK AT THIS.

To participate in Beauty Season, just log on to beauty.ionorchard.com/home on your mobile, and register with your details. From there, you’ll be able to redeem your samples at each of the stores – obviously limited to one set per person!

Select the brand that you’re interested in sampling (the images show the product you’ll be sampling), and head towards the store. The page will include the store’s location, and the exact details of the product you’ll be sampling (size/sachet etc.).

If you’re worried about unfriendly salespeople, DON’T BE WORRIED. Just suck it up and head into the stores and show them your screen, swipe to redeem your product, and they’ll hand you the sample once you fill in some details. Maybe it’s just luck (?) but every single one of the salespeople I encountered today were super friendly! In fact, most of them gave me a runthrough of how their product sample works, what it targets, and how long it will last. Super satisfying experience!

Once you have received the brand’s sample, you’re able to add a review. Adding a review and showing it to the staff will provide a discount in-store, with the exception of Sephora and Estee Lauder. Not only so, you stand a chance to win a full-sized version of the product sampled!! Ok it’s one winner per brand but you still definitely stand a chance haha 😀

Astalift was extremely generous with their samples. I’m excited to try this out, as Lunamer is a new line targeted at younger women (Astalift, if you don’t already know, is well-known for their anti-aging products).

Dr. Ci:Labo

Pictured: When you head to their store, they will invite you to like their Facebook page as well. Go ahead and do so – they’ll provide another sample kit as well, which includes an Enrich Moisture Lotion, Herbal Gel O2 Charge, and Mild UV Lotion sachets.

I have heard of their brand before, and since the latter products are targeted at sensitive skin, I can try it out on breakout days 🙂 The saleslady said that the lotion is meant for anti-aging, so my mum would probably benefit from it more than I would.

Kiehl’s

Pictured: The saleslady gave me some samples for their other products as well! This included the Purifying Foaming Cleanser, Ultra-Facial Oil-Free Toner, Clearly Corrective White Hydrating Moisture Emulsion, as well as the Actively Correcting and Beautifying BB Cream.

I’m especially excited to sample the dark-circle perfector – the saleslady said this sample should last me a week. I’m always up for trying new things to minimise my horrific panda eyes!!

The saleslady was extremely helpful and friendly 🙂

Laneige

Stepped into Laneige to check out the Multiberry Yoghurt Pack (i.e. wanted to let mum smell it.) Saw the promo for the first time :’) Laneige is a mid-high end skincare brand, so anything’s fair game for me. I recently purchased some of their anti-aging samples in Bonjour Hong Kong.

Mt. Sapola

Will use this soon 🙂 I’m not a regular user of body lotion, but my calves are especially dry and could do with some moisturizing. Mum recommended this brand.

The saleslady was extremely helpful and friendly 🙂

Next

What they’re giving away: 100 bottles of Next Hair Building Fibres (25g)

I… think this is hair roots mascara in powder form. Reminds me of Ji Sukjin and his hair powder stain on the ceiling keyboard :D. Extremely surprised at the size of this – this looks like a full-sized product already! Mum was very excited to receive this 🙂 (obviously it will not be very useful for me. whoops)

Shu Uemura

SUPER excited to use this – I think I’m the most excited to use this out of all of the samples received today. I love using cleansing oil – it’s much milder on my skin as compared to furiously rubbing my mascara off with makeup remover. Shu’s is supposedly the best in the market, and I’m excited to see how it compared to my DHC Deep Cleansing Oil.

The salesman was extremely helpful and friendly 🙂

Skin Inc

You get to pick a serum of your choice (i.e. Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramide, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Collagen, Q1o etc.)! I’ve already tried the Q10 and it was not bad, so I picked Vitamin A to help with brightening of dark spots and whatnot. I’m already familiar with Skin Inc and quite like their products 🙂

YSL

Herworld

Also, it’s Her World’s 55th anniversary, so there was a pop-up store/bar in the atrium at ION Orchard! If you purchased this month’s copy for $5, you get a mocktail, and the samples pictured below.

Additionally, if you subscribe/extend your subscription, you get reduced rates ($55 for 12m, $89 for 24m (you save $55)), as well as a Perfect Renew Early Anti-Aging Trial Pouch ($65) from Laneige. Super deal!

Lifestyle | Beauty | Food

I'm Allison, and I run milliefeuille, a Singapore beauty and lifestyle blog. I love reviewing the latest and most effective Asian (and the occasional Western) skincare and beauty products, so follow me on my quest to get the best skin possible! :)